Brimstone Press

a
cooperative approach to self-publishing

Author: Richard Adeney

Richard Adeney was born in 1920, the son of the painter Bernard Adeney.
His mother was also a painter, and knew many of the artists and writers
now labelled as “the Bloomsbury Group”. He went to the Royal
College of Music, where one of his contemporaries and close friends
was Malcolm Arnold. He joined the London Philharmonic in 1941, initially
as second flute, and played with them until 1950 and again from 1961
to 1970.

During his time with the LPO he played under all the great conductors
of the time; his book contains perceptive, entertaining and at times
delightfully disrespectful anecdotes about many of them. “Never ever
forget,” he
was told by the first flute early on in his career, “that the conductor
is your natural enemy.”

He was a member of the Melos Ensemble, the English Chamber Orchestra and
other smaller groups, and performed frequently as a soloist. He played
regularly at the Aldeburgh Festival, where the orchestra gave the first
performances of many of Benjamin Britten's works. He also worked as a Samaritans
volunteer for many years.

He retired from professional work at the age of 70 and promptly sold all
his flutes “for I feared becoming an incompetent amateur sadly harking
back to lost expertise” but remains actively involved in the world
of classical music.